Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Chapter 29 Sold to a Grand Hotel

Seeing Chen Wenjun's cautious demeanor, Lin Qin wasn't worried at all, and soon she caught another large carp weighing about two pounds.

Chen Wenjun helped her take it down, and she quickly cast the rod again.

It's carp again this time.

Along with four or five carp, just as Lin Qin suspected they had stirred up a carp nest, silver carp followed.

The largest weighs four or five kilograms.

They were hooked incredibly fast, giving them almost no chance to catch their breath.

Fortunately, it was late at night and no one witnessed their feat, otherwise their family would have become famous.

Because she kept making purchases, Lin Qin had no intention of stopping until Chen Wenjun said that she had too many things to take with her the next day.

Lin Qin got up around five o'clock the next day.

I was thinking of leaving early, preferably arriving at the market street around six o'clock, so that I could set up my stall at that time and sell out quickly.

Because there were too many fish, Chen Wenjun didn't bother to collect the fish traps, planning to sell them first.

There weren't many people on the streets in the early morning.

The two could push their things along the main road without any restraint.

When they arrived at Xiatian Vegetable Market Road, they found that the elderly women who set up stalls had already arrived.

There were quite a few people heading to the early morning market.

Having learned from yesterday's experience, Lin Qin was more relaxed this time. As soon as she set up her things, she imitated Chen Wenjun's call out, "Today we have bighead carp, silver carp, and big carp, all fresh! Auntie, want to buy some fish? Today we have fresh, big fish!"

Lin Qin squatted there, pointing at the bucket.

Passersby glanced at it several times and, finding that the fish was indeed quite large, immediately gathered around.

"Can I just have half a fish head?" a young and pretty woman asked shyly. Seemingly realizing that her request was a bit excessive, she quickly explained, "It's just me and my child eating at home. We can't finish one."

"It's okay! Half is fine too. If we can't sell them, we'll take them home and eat them ourselves!" Lin Qin hesitated for a moment, then immediately agreed.

The woman chose a fish, which Chen Wenjun slaughtered on the spot.

People nearby could tell at a glance that the fish was fresh, and the other half of the fish head was quickly bought.

The person buying the fish here just paid, and then someone else came over to ask about the price.

One of them was responsible for killing and selling the fish, while the other was responsible for bagging the fish, collecting money, and conducting business.

Unbeknownst to them, the sun was shining on them.

Just as Chen Wenjun was about to change positions, Zhang Youren, that big fat man, appeared again.

Are there any river shrimp left today?

Chen Wenjun chuckled and shook his head, "Unfortunately, I didn't have time to collect them today, so I don't know if there are any left. Today's fish are all big ones."

"Why aren't there any!" Zhang Youren was particularly disappointed. He looked around and then focused his gaze on the carp. "How much are they?"

"It sold for 1.5 yuan yesterday, and today's size is much bigger than yesterday's, but the price is still the same. Do you want it?" Lin Qin asked.

Zhang Youren had originally wanted to haggle, but seeing Lin Qin's response, he decided against it. "That's settled then. Wrap them all up! And the big soft-shelled turtle! How much?"

"Same price as the supply and marketing cooperative, two yuan and two jiao, only one left," Chen Wenjun replied hurriedly.

Zhang Youren frowned, "Less quantity, please! I've already bought so many carp!"

Chen Wenjun immediately looked distressed. "Boss, it's not that we don't want to lower the price, but turtles are hard to catch. This is the only one we have, and it's a rare find!"

"What did you call me?" Zhang Youren's eyes lit up. Because of that "boss," he stopped haggling and asked Chen Wenjun to pack the turtle along with the meat.

Around 8 o'clock, there were still a few bighead carp and silver carp that hadn't been sold, but the rest were sold out.

Chen Wenjun was unwilling to give up. He packed his things and said to Lin Qin, "I'll go to the restaurant and ask if they'll accept it."

The only well-known hotels in the city are Guoxing Hotel and Aiguo Hotel. Both of these hotels are located in the city center, and it takes about half an hour to walk there from here.

Lin Qin pushed the empty bucket and the scale beam and weight behind Chen Wenjun, sweat dripping down her face, but she felt no bitterness or hardship, only endless anticipation for life.

The two walked and talked, and their first stop was the Guoxing Hotel.

People these days are hardworking, especially those who run private businesses. They want to open their doors as soon as it's light and close them when it's dark and everyone's gone.

The restaurant is also open in the morning, mainly selling congee and side dishes.

The two men carried the buckets inside. The owner, Zheng Guoxing, thought they were there for a meal and quickly asked, "What would you like to eat?"

Chen Wenjun mustered his courage and asked, "Boss, are you buying fish? Fresh silver carp and bighead carp."

Zheng Guoxing went over to take a look out of curiosity, and even reached down to scoop it up. The fish struggled and splashed water everywhere.

Zheng Guoxing chuckled, "Not bad, not bad, how much is it?"

"One yuan and fifty cents per pound."

Zheng Guoxing nodded. "Can you make it any cheaper?"

Chen Wenjun hurriedly replied, "Boss, the supply and marketing cooperative sells it for 1.6 yuan a pound, which is already 1 mao cheaper. Look, the fish are all very fresh!"

Zheng Guoxing didn't deny it, "Okay! I'll take them all, please deliver them to the kitchen."

After Zheng Guoxing paid the bill, Chen Wenjun casually asked, "Boss, does your restaurant buy river shrimp?"

"We'll take them! But we won't take too little, we need at least five catties! If you have that quantity, just send it to me. As for the price, we'll give you whatever price the supply and marketing cooperative offers! We'll also take any bamboo shoot husks you have."

Zheng Guoxing simply listed all the things their restaurant needed in one go, and then muttered to himself, "Actually, we'll take any big fish. Lately, a lot of people have been saying that the food at the National Grand Hotel isn't good. I do have some cooking skills, but it's hard to buy good ingredients. If you have any rare items, send them to me. I'll take them all!"

"Okay, okay! I'll go back and check. If I can gather five catties of river shrimp this afternoon, I'll deliver them, alright?" Chen Wenjun was overjoyed.

Zheng Guoxing nodded, "Then you'd better deliver it early, preferably before three o'clock."

Chen Wenjun agreed.

After leaving the Guoxing Hotel, the two immediately rushed home.

This time, Chen Wenjun pushed the cart, leaving everything else on it, so Lin Qin could walk around empty-handed.

Passing a steamed bun stall on the road, seeing that the owner was about to pack up, Lin Qin quickly asked, "Boss, do you still have any steamed buns?"

Yes! How many do you want?

"Put ten in my bag."

"Alright! Ten seven-cent coins."

Lin Qin paid and took a large bag of steamed buns from the shopkeeper. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Look at these steamed buns! They're so big and fragrant, and they're only a few cents each! Who would have thought that in twenty or thirty years, they would cost more than seven cents each!"

Chen Wenjun thought the same way, "Eat more if you like it, and buy more next time you go to the market!"

"You're wasting money!" Lin Qin gave him a reproachful look, but felt a sweet warmth in her heart.

The first thing the two did upon returning to the fishing boat was to settle accounts.

"Today, all the fish we sold were 1.5 yuan each. The carp sold for 24 yuan; the silver carp for 60 yuan; the bighead carp for 55 yuan; the bamboo shoots for 9.36 yuan; the turtle for 4.5 yuan; and other miscellaneous fish like blackfish, eel, and crucian carp. All together, it's 7.8 yuan. We spent 70 cents on that bag of steamed buns. So here's 159.96 yuan."

(End of this chapter)